In the field of patient care, it is often necessary to transport a patient in a wheelchair or the like while the patient is connected to an oxygen tank. Some oxygen tanks are quite cumbersome and, accordingly, are mounted on wheeled carts specifically designed for transport of the tanks. When it is necessary to transport a patient while having oxygen readily available or while administering it to then from such tanks, an additional person is required for manipulating the cart and maintaining an oxygen line to the patient in the wheelchair. A nurse or attendant, while pushing the wheelchair, cannot also push the oxygen cart, necessitating the assignment of two persons to a patient to be transported--one to push the wheelchair and one to push the oxygen cart. Not only is there a need for two people instead of one in such an arrangement, but there is the increased danger of the oxygen line being disconnected since the two persons have to coordinate their efforts side-by-side so that there is no jerking or pulling of the oxygen line running between the cart-mounted bottle and the patient in the wheelchair.
It is known to provide a clamping device for direct attachment of an oxygen tank to a wheelchair or the like, but such devices do not provide for transport of the cart along with the wheelchair. In a hospital environment, it is often necessary to transport patients from one station, e.g., room or ward having a wall-mounted oxygen supply next to a bed, to another station of this type. Accordingly, it is only necessary to provide oxygen to the patient during transport between stations and, if a tank is clamped to the wheelchair, it must be removed from the standard cart prior to transport thereof and placed back in the cart after transport thereof or must be left attached to the wheelchair in order to be used for another patient. Obviously, not all patients need oxygen during transport, and it is uneconomical to have an oxygen tank attached to every wheelchair. Further, mounting of the larger oxygen tanks to wheelchairs often requires more than one person. Accordingly, it is normal practice to have an additional person to manipulate the oxygen tank cart, separate from and adjacent to the wheelchair, while maintaining an oxygen line to the patient. Further, there are some cases in which a patient, who is able to do limited propelling of the wheelchair in which he rides, requires oxygen or the ready availability thereof at all times.
What is needed is a device by which a tank-mounted cart may be detachably coupled to a wheelchair for transport therewith, without the need for an additional person to manipulate such a cart. Further, such a device should be easily attached and detached from the wheelchair for adaptation to different sizes and types of patient transport devices so that the attachment and detachment thereof may be accomplished by one individual, such as a nurse or an attendant. In this manner, economical use of such oxygen tanks and of the personnel necessary to care for the patient may be efficiently attained.
Accordingly, an object of the instant invention is to provide a device by which a wheeled oxygen tank cart may be detachably connected to the wheelchair so that no additional person is needed for manipulation of the cart during transport of a patient.
A further object of the invention is to provide an oxygen tank cart/wheelchair attachment device which is adjustable in nature, and will accommodate different carts and wheelchairs.
An additional object of the invention is to provide an attachment device for a wheelchair which will totally support such an oxygen cart, or will provide for a cart to move with the wheelchair, in tandem, during rolling support of the cart by its own wheels.
In one embodiment of the invention, a spring-biased telescoping tube is detachably coupled to base support members of a wheelchair and receives feet of a wheeled oxygen tank cart so that the cart is supported in a vertical direction by the cart wheels; and adjustable strap prevents rearward tipping of the cart. With such an arrangement, the cart is rollingly transportable in tandem with, and constrained by, the wheelchair and its attachment so that no additional person is necessary to manipulate the cart. By such an arrangement, either the patient or a person pushing the wheelchair may direct the wheelchair without having to worry about manipulation of the oxygen tank cart. In another embodiment, the weight of the cart and tank are totally supported by the wheelchair through use of the attachment device.